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Downeast School

Public Grades PK, KG-3
281st
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 289 Maine Elementary Schools
Better than 3% of Maine elementary schools
Summary

Downeast School is an elementary school located in Bangor, Maine, serving grades PK-3 with a total enrollment of 311 students. It is part of the Bangor Public Schools district, which is ranked 63 out of 176 districts in Maine and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Downeast School has consistently underperformed compared to the Bangor district and the state of Maine in terms of proficiency rates on the Maine Educational Assessment (MEA) for English Language Arts and Mathematics. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 27.12% of Downeast students were proficient or better in ELA, compared to 64% for the Bangor district and 63.84% for the state. Similarly, in Math, only 33.9% of Downeast students were proficient or better, compared to 56.78% for the district and 49.38% for the state. Downeast School has also had high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 23.4% to 27.8% in recent years, which is significantly higher than the state average.

When comparing Downeast School to other elementary schools in the Bangor district, it is clear that Downeast is an outlier in terms of academic performance and student demographics. For example, Fruit Street School and Abraham Lincoln School, which are both within a few miles of Downeast, have significantly higher proficiency rates in ELA and Math, as well as lower rates of free/reduced-price lunch eligibility. Downeast School's statewide ranking has steadily declined over the past several years, from 194 out of 210 Maine elementary schools in 2021-2022 to 281 out of 289 in 2024-2025, suggesting that the school is struggling to improve its academic outcomes and may need additional support or intervention.

288
Students ?
9.6
Student/teacher ratio ?
$22,360
Per pupil spending ?
89.9%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 100 Moosehead Blvd
       Bangor, ME  04401

(207) 941-6240

District: Bangor Public Schools


Students who attend Downeast School usually attend:

Middle:    James F. Doughty School
High:    Bangor High School
Racial breakdown:

White:
79.5%
Hispanic:
9.7%
African American:
6.9%
more
 See top rated Maine elementary schools

 Compare Downeast School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Declining — 37th percentile in 2015 → 3rd in 2025
Strengths
Small classes — about 10 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Maine average (31% vs 57% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (3rd percentile)
!High chronic absenteeism (32% vs 23% Maine)
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school31%
District avg60%
Maine avg57%
281st of 289
Maine public elementary schools ?
Bottom 3%▼ down 34 pts since 2015
From bottom 37% (2015) to bottom 3% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Maine Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
5th of 5Elementary Schools in the Bangor Public Schools
63rd of 176Bangor Public Schools among Maine districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaine percentileRating
20256.9281 of 2892.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202413.4268 of 2886.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202341.3192 of 29033.8%★★☆☆☆
20226.3194 of 2107.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20217.5207 of 2289.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201929.8197 of 25823.6%★☆☆☆☆
201544.3180 of 28436.6%★★☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaine percentileRating
20254.1247 of 2511.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201946.885 of 15344.4%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaine percentileRating
201963.028 of 8265.9%★★★☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaine percentileRating
202510.7239 of 2514.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201912.9147 of 1533.9%☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaine percentileRating
202530.3143 of 19225.5%★☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaine percentileRating
20198.645 of 486.3%☆☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
Low Socio Economic Status (2019)66th percentile+42 vs school
Special Education (2025)26th percentile+23 vs school
White (2019)6th percentile-17 vs school
Male (2025)5th percentile~ school
Female (2025)2nd percentile~ school
By subject vs Maine (2024-2025) ?
Mathematics34%-15 vs state
English Language Arts27%-37 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Downeast School

In the 2024-25 school year, 288 students attended Downeast School.

Students at Downeast School are 80% White, 10% Hispanic, 7% African American, 2% American Indian, 1% Asian.

Downeast School ranks in the bottom 2.8% of Maine elementary schools.

Students who attend Downeast School usually go on to attend:

Middle : James F. Doughty School
High : Bangor High School


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Maine Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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